Inside the grandest fashion show on earth

Christian Dior is one of the few brands that everyone knows about, whether you're into fashion or not.

Since its inception in 1946, when Dior redefined what it meant to be fashionable with his feminine New Look silhouette, it's become a byword for modern elegance. Whether helmed by John Galliano or Raf Simons (who left the house last year, leaving the house without a high-profile creative director) it's still revered as one of the pillars of fashion. It's loved by legendary critics and young high-profile stars such as Rihanna, who has recently designed a sunglasses line for the brand. Its appeal is far reaching. So without a famous creative director at the reins (it's currently helmed by studio heads Serge Ruffieux and Lucie Meier), how does Dior maintain its reputation as an industry powerhouse? Well, by staging its latest cruise collection at Blenheim Palace, where it last showed in 1954 and 1958. Cruise shows have grown increasingly in terms of scale over the past few seasons (just look at Chanel's recent Havana outing) but you don't get much ostentatious than a baroque palace. It was an impressive, unforgettable, branding exercise. Here's what really happened at Dior's grandest show to date, plus the styling notes you can try yourself now.

True, we didn't actually see the helicopters, but we have it on good authority that they were used.

Bella Hadid was made the new beauty ambassador

The news was announced the morning of the show, and naturally she made a catwalk appearance. Brilliantly, Bella refused to eat the tuna mayo sandwiches on offer backstage, saying she fancied pizza instead. She also, incidentally, tried cauliflower cheese last night - which she loves - and merrily tucked into a chocolate muffin backstage. A woman after our own hearts.

Bear with us on this. Redken creative director and general hair legend Guido Palau went for a "simple, modern look that had no reference to the past". Hair was combed away from the face with a wide tooth comb, while the back was left natural and the face exposed. So wet and dry, shiny and matte. "We're in this beautiful old setting so I wanted the hair to look modern," said Palau. Greasy hair is officially in.

Casting director Anita Bitton hired 56 models to feature in the show. While Britton - a long-term collaborator of Alexander Wang and Marc Jacobs - wanted to find models who represented the Dior woman's "independent, youthful and sophisticated" spirit, diversity was always at the forefront. "When you're selling things to people, they have to feel represented. That's very important - whether race or gender or shape - and we've made some good steps but there's still so much more to be done."

New season Dior is all about post-war high society ladies who fancy a holiday